Baseless: K'taka Minister on Maharashtra's objection to increasing Almatti dam height

Bengaluru, Aug 1 (IANS) Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil on Friday claimed that the Maharashtra government's objection to the increase in the height of the Almatti Dam, raising flooding concerns in Sangli and Kolhapur, was baseless.

The matter has come to the forefront with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis writing a letter to the Centre objecting to the increase in the height of Alamatti Dam.

Speaking to the media here on Friday, Minister Patil pointed out that this argument has already been rejected by tribunals, the Supreme Court, and even in Parliament.

"Before the construction of the Almatti Dam, Sangli experienced devastating floods in 1964, 1976, 1994, and 1997. The Supreme Court had already ruled in 2000 that we are permitted to raise the height of the dam to 524.256 meters. Despite this, Maharashtra approached the tribunal in 2005, but its interim petition was also rejected," he said.

Minister Patil said that the tribunal had not accepted the argument that the Almatti Dam is the reason behind flooding in Maharashtra's Sangli and Kolhapur districts.

"The tribunal had provided detailed reports in 2010 and 2013 on the matter and even considered the impact of the Hippargi reservoir. Furthermore, no state has contested the verdict of the second tribunal constituted to allocate Krishna River water," Patil said.

"In this context, it is clear to anyone that suddenly objecting now has a political motive," he remarked.

He also said that earlier, even Andhra Pradesh (before bifurcation) had raised objections, claiming it would not receive water if the Almatti Dam height was increased. But that argument, too, was dismissed.

He alleged that Maharashtra's current demand to re-evaluate the dam's height proposal is driven by political intentions.

"As someone who served as Irrigation Minister for five years, I have clear knowledge on the matter," he added.

"There is severe encroachment in the catchment areas of Sangli district. I have a report related to this. The Maharashtra government must focus on resolving this issue instead of obstructing our plans. I will also share these documents with Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar. We will provide a detailed response to this issue," Patil asserted sharply.

Home Minister Parameshwara, responding to the issue in Bengaluru, stated: "For us, safeguarding the interests of the state is of utmost importance. By increasing the height of the Almatti Dam, we will be able to store the water allocated to the state. Currently, we don't have sufficient reservoirs to store our allotted share. If we raise the height, we can store a few more TMCs of water. We will urge the Centre and other states to ensure the judicious utilisation of the allocated water share of our state."

--IANS

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